Dissident Gardens

Dissident Gardens

The early 21st century brought a new type of American novel. Its
best-known practitioners – all men of the same generation, born in the
mid to late 1960s – are Michael Chabon, Junot Díaz and Jonathan
Lethem. The books they wrote were interested in popular culture or
counterculture as much as in the thoughts and passions of characters.
Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000) chronicled
the rise of superhero comics in postwar America. Díaz’s The Brief,
Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007) described its hero’s introduction
to science fiction, hinting that sci-fi might offer a solution to the
perennial immigrant dilemma of how to become a normal American without
losing your identity. Lethem’s The Fortress of Solitude (2003) told
the story of an inter-racial friendship between two Brooklyn boys
through the rise of graffiti, punk rock, funk, hip-hop and comic
books.